Ocala lawyer discusses what it was like to help defend Casey Anthony

As the second week of testimony in the George Zimmerman murder trial winds down, chatter about the proceedings and media coverage of the trial will certainly not rest this weekend.

By April WarrenStaff writer

As the second week of testimony in the George Zimmerman murder trial winds down, chatter about the proceedings and media coverage of the trial will certainly not rest this weekend.

Zimmerman's defense team is constantly in the spotlight, as an Instagram photo from defense attorney Don West's daughter proved last week. The photo of West and his daughter indulging in some celebratory ice cream came under scrutiny from the prosecution after his daughter hashtagged the photo “#Zimmerman,” “#defense,” and “#dadkilledit.”

Perhaps no Marion County resident has a feel for the sensitivities of the participants and viewers in a high-profile trial like Ocala lawyer Dorothy Clay Sims, who served as part of Casey Anthony's defense team. A jury found Anthony not guilty in the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in 2011 following an emotional trial that captivated — and divided — the nation.

Sims is the founding partner at Sims and Stakenborg, an Ocala law firm that specializes in Social Security disability claims, cross-examination of expert witnesses and forensic aspects in civil and criminal litigation.

While her practice has been devoted to helping injured clients obtain medical care, in recent years she has focused more on assisting other attorneys in research and cross examining expert witnesses in civil cases. Sims has refused interviews with the media for more than a year because of what she describes as the media's misrepresentation of Anthony, but she agreed to speak to the Star-Banner via email.

Sims' role in the case was to research expert witnesses, oversee forensic issues, take depositions, assist in jury selection and question several witnesses on the stand. Other attorneys on the defense team were Jose Baez and Cheney Mason.

“Our team received death threats, hideous calls, nasty letters and we still do,” she said. Sims said her hotel room was broken into during jury selection, and there were helicopters over her house.

“I hope folks are more compassionate and will allow justice to take its course,” she said of the Zimmerman trial, which she is following. “I think this case is somewhat less polarizing for a number of reasons, which may mean the lawyers get less grief.”

While Sims acknowledges that defending a controversial client can be “difficult” and at times “horrible,” it doesn't change the fact that the burden is on the state to prove there is no reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt.

In some ways, Sims has been forever changed by the Anthony trial.

“It caused me great disappointment to see how powerful certain media outlets were and how easily people made decisions with so little information,” she said.

Sims said she realized that she, too, has been guilty of making some decisions with little information and after the trial vowed to be more discerning in the future. She noted, for instance, that it was widely believed that police found evidence of 84 searches for the term “chloroform” on the Anthony family computer. In reality, she said, the chloroform searches were false and the hits were a combination of Myspace hits and software errors. While the initial claim received a substantial amount of media attention, the correction received little, if any.

Sims did point to a positive impact of the case.

“This case, however, did result in my gratitude and appreciation for our jury system and the folks on the jury who took their job very seriously. Look at what happens when you sequester the decision-makers from emails and TV.” The jury in the Zimmerman case has also been sequestered.

A large portion of the media coverage during the Anthony trial focused on the defendant's perceived lack of remorse. “When bloggers weighed in saying Casey was guilty because she didn't react to a traumatic situation the way they would react, they probably have no idea what they are talking about,” Sims said.

The trial was emotional for Sims, she admitted. Many times, TV cameras captured Sims comforting her client.

“I cared for and continue to care for Casey a great deal,” she said. “It would have been easier had I not cared for Casey. It was painful to care for a young person whom you feared may be executed if wrongly convicted. Terribly painful. It kept me up at night.”

It affected others around Anthony as well.

Sims recalled going to see Anthony inside the jail after the verdict. A law enforcement officer leaned over his desk, smiled, and said to Sims, “I just want to let you know that when the verdict was read, I cried. I cried because it was the right verdict. I was so relieved.” He then shook Sims' hand.

On Monday, the third week of testimony in the Zimmerman trial will get underway. According to Sims, the decision might come down to one issue.

“The issue in this case isn't whether you or I would react to the situation the way Mr. Zimmerman reacted,” she said. The issue is whether he genuinely believed he was genuinely defending himself based on the circumstances at the time rather than acting with a depraved mind.”